Beloved friend,
Welcome into this extended journey,
This deep soft ceremony of yoga nidra.
So often in life,
When we face stress,
Trauma,
Or overwork,
Parts of our energy feel scattered,
Fragmented,
Or left behind.
This practice is dedicated to soul retrieval,
A gentle,
Spacious reclaiming of your inner world,
Bringing all your light back home to rest.
Allow this time to be a deep surrender of the body and the mind's constant effort,
So that your whole self can become complete again.
Settle completely.
Grab a blanket,
And maybe a pillow,
And perhaps an eye cover if you have one.
Settle even deeper.
Feel the profound generosity of the surface supporting you.
Nothing is required of you here except the willingness to receive.
Take a moment to softly whisper your sankalpa,
Your heart's intention,
Three times into the stillness.
Let this simple,
Present tense truth be a gentle compass guiding your scattered energies back to center.
Now we begin the conscious rotation,
Moving your awareness through the body to draw the mind out of thought and deep into sensation.
Follow my voice and simply allow the named part to surrender.
Bring your soft awareness to your right hand.
Feel the right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
The entire right palm.
Let the entire right arm release its grip and dissolve.
Now move your awareness to your left hand,
The entire left palm.
Let the entire left arm become heavy.
Move your focus to the right side of your body.
Now the left side of your body.
Feel the back of your body,
The entire back of the head,
The spine,
The broadness of the shoulder blade.
Feel the front of your body.
Your whole face.
Let the expression of your face become quiet and undefended.
Now we invite your awareness to track the breath.
Notice the natural,
Continuous flow of air at the nostrils.
Follow the cool breath entering and the slightly warmer breath leaving.
Track the breath from the nostrils down to the space just behind your navel.
Follow its circular,
Effortless path,
As if tracking a gentle light moving through your core.
We introduce the feeling of opposites.
A practice that moves beyond the body's comfort zone to liberate your awareness.
We invoke the sensation of intense cold.
Imagine the air on your skin is freezing,
Sharp,
And chilling to the bone.
Feel the cold radiating from the surface deep into your bones.
Breathe into the coldness,
Allowing the mind to stabilize.
Now release the cold and invoke the sensation of intense warmth.
Imagine a profound,
Gentle warmth radiating from your core,
Growing until your whole body feels heavy,
Drowsy,
And utterly saturated in a soft,
Sunlit heat.
Breathe into the warmth.
Now let both sensations dissolve completely,
Returning to a state of neutral,
Profound peace.
We move now into the deep visualization of the inner sanctuary,
The journey of soul retrieval.
Imagine you are standing at the base of a beautiful,
Gentle path.
This path leads you directly to the sacred,
Quiet center of your own soul,
The place where you were always whole.
Follow this path now,
Knowing you are completely protected.
You arrive at a small,
Clear pool of water.
This water holds all the clarity,
Forgiveness,
And unconditional love you have ever sought.
You step into the pool,
And the water immediately washes away all doubt,
All self-criticism,
And every story of not-enoughness.
As the water cleanses you,
Look up and see the light of your authentic self shining down upon you.
This light is whole,
Luminous,
And requires nothing of you.
You look into your own eyes and recognize the divine,
Untainted truth of who you are.
Rest in this truth.
Rest in this light.
You have gathered all your scattered parts.
You have reclaimed your center.
You are safe.
You are healed.
Gently recall your sankalpa now,
Feeling its truth settled deep within your bones.
Begin to hear the sounds of the room.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Gently move your fingers and your toes.
Carry the clarity and completeness of this inner sanctuary with you as you slowly,
Lovingly return to your waking life.
You are rested,
Whole,
And deeply,
Deeply loved.
